


Past the Peoples' Eyes

by royaltyjunk



Series: in other wor(l)ds [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: F/M, Family Bonding, Royalty, people are mean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-12 20:15:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17474273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/royaltyjunk/pseuds/royaltyjunk
Summary: “I simply want to help others understand that your magic is not for evil. Everyone seems to believe that magic is meant to kill and take away lives. However, if I could show them that it is being used to save lives and not take them away, perhaps I could dispel the unjust way you are being treated.” (Or, a support rewrite between a cursed mother and a pressured son.)





	Past the Peoples' Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Ideas: I require highly specific and detailed content and since IntSys won’t give it to me I have to do everything myself  
> This is written in prose but it’s split into three scenes so it’s C-B-A

Siegbert leafed through the papers handed to him before standing. He gave his study a sweeping glance before blowing out the candle lighting the room and leaving, making for his father’s study.

“Father?” He called as he knocked on the door. There was no response. He tried again, knocking twice, and then three times, and still he received no response. Wondering if his father had fallen asleep as he oft did when he worked late into the night, Siegbert pushed open the door.

His father was not in his study; the room was dark, the curtains drawn. His father must have retired to the room he shared with his mother. He dropped the pile of papers on his father’s desk and made for his parents’ room.

“I suppose I can wish them good night while I am at it…” Siegbert murmured under his breath. With that in his mind, he left the building and made his way to the royal chambers.

“Lord Siegbert,” Soleil greeted, and he smiled and nodded in response.

“Don’t stay out too late,” he advised, “or who knows what your father will do.”

Soleil chuckled. “Yeah. Thanks, Lord Siegbert.”

With a bow from Soleil, lord and retainer parted ways. Siegbert continued to the royal chambers and opened the door to his parents’ room, peeking his head in.

“Father, Mother. I was—Mother! You’re hurt!?” He cried, rushing to Nyx’s side. His mother was sitting at the large desk beside the door, a strip of used bandages discarded at her feet as she rubbed ointment over a series of scabs along her arm. His father was not in the room, although Siegfried, left behind, hinted he was taking on a mundane task.

“Ah, Siegbert… Do not mind these wounds. They are old and healing.” She managed a smile, but it was small and tired—barely genuine.

“That matters not! What happened!?”

“...Do you recall the village we rescued last week?” Nyx asked as she set down the ointment-stained rag and began to unravel new bandages. Siegbert helped her.

“Yes, I do.”

“The residents did not seem to believe me to be a good fit for queen. As a result… I suffered these wounds.”

“What!? That is…!”

“It is a common occurrence, Siegbert. I know you worry for me, but please, there is nothing anyone can do to stop it. The rumors that have followed me have long been engraved into the minds of the Nohrian people.”

He sighed, attempting to suppress the anger bubbling up inside of him. “How frustrating…”

“It is alright, Siegbert.”

“Does Father know?”

“Yes. Your father has known this would happen since the moment he asked for my hand in marriage.” Nyx turned her gaze away, sighing. “This curse will continue to haunt me, and the people will continue to mistreat me, no matter what even I do. There is nothing that can be done.”

With another sigh, she kissed his cheek.

“Good night, Siegbert. Do not stay up too late.”

“Good night.” He let her walk him out of the room. Watching her close the door, he hung his head and tightened his fist. “Mother…”

~ / . / . / ~

Siegbert smiled and stroked his horse’s mane. He thanked the stablehand, who stammered out a “No need, my lord!” before leading his horse away.

He wandered through the marketplace, making notes of good prices on groceries. Uncle Leo was on kitchen duty tonight, and they were, unfortunately, out of cabbages and red meat.

As he examined a nearby stall selling apples and peaches of all varieties, a clamor turned his attention to a crowd of people, surrounding something just by the bend of the street.

“There is a crowd… what is going on?” He murmured to himself as he made his way towards the throng of people.

“Witch!”

“Monster!”

“Why don’t you just die already!?”

The sight before him was an indescribable shock: his mother stood, encircled by a crowd of derisive and angry townspeople who yelled and insulted her. Someone threw a pebble. She flinched, but stood strong. Siegbert could see the beginnings of bruises forming on her pale skin.

“You will never be our queen!” Another person yelled.

“Wha…!? What are you all doing!?” He cried, pushing forward through the crowd. People turned and gasped.

“Pr-Prince Siegbert?”

“The prince!?”

He ignored their whispers and gasps, kneeling beside Nyx. “Are you alright, Mother?”

“Yes… these wounds will pass eventually.” Despite her words, she winced when she took Siegbert’s hand and stood.

“Still, you ought to have it looked at. I will ask Forrest to treat your wounds when we return.” Slowly, he began to lead her away. The crowd dispersed, whispering what he was sure were rumors about him and his mother.

“Thank you, Siegbert.” She smiled, and Siegbert did not care about the rumors the villagers would spread. They were temporary, would pass eventually. His love for his mother would not.

As soon as Siegbert told his cousin of what had transpired, Forrest had taken his aunt to the infirmary and asked him to find both Xander and Leo. There was a tint of despair in Forrest’s eyes, and that little seed planted a sprout of anxiety in Siegbert’s own heart.

The feeling magnified when the crown princes of Nohr appeared and wordlessly slipped into the room where Nyx was housed.

“Father… she’ll be alright, won’t she?” He heard Forrest ask when Leo left. Leo murmured something and turned the corner, gesturing to Siegbert.

“Your mother wishes to see you.”

“Ah… thank you, Uncle Leo.” Siegbert bowed respectfully and hurried into the room, his worry seemingly a hundred times worse.

When he entered the room Xander glanced up before standing, offering Siegbert the chair he had been sitting in.

“I should get going. If you need anything…”

“I will ask for Forrest or Elise.” Nyx waved him off, a smile on her lips, and Xander chuckled. “Go on, now.”

“Take care.” Xander leaned down and pressed a kiss on her cheek. He smiled at Siegbert, laying a hand on his son’s shoulder before leaving.

Siegbert took a seat beside his mother, holding back the flinch that threatened to take over him when he saw the bruises along his mother’s face and shoulders.

“Are you feeling alright now?” He asked gently.

Nyx managed a smile. “Yes, much better.”

“Mother… I do not mean to intrude, but… these kinds of attacks… they seem to be common occurrences. How long have you suffered for the sake of Father and I?”

“That… I cannot say, my son.”

Silence fell between them, tense and brittle. He held back the urge to let out a sigh.

Gods, if only there was something he could do. His mother had suffered for so long for the sake of the people she loved. Surely there was something, something he could do…!

“Mother, I was wondering if you could teach me magic.”

His mother lifted an eyebrow at him. “I would be willing, but why the sudden interest?”

“I simply want to help others understand that your magic is not for evil. Everyone seems to believe that magic is meant to kill and take away lives. However, if I could show them that it is being used to save lives and not take them away, perhaps I could dispel the unjust way you are being treated.”

“Siegbert…” She closed her eyes, a smile on her lips. “Of course I will teach you.”

~ / . / . / ~

“...There.”

The cool tingling on Siegbert’s cheeks came to a slow, and he opened his eyes. Nyx handed him a mirror, and he stared at himself. Along his cheeks were marks reminiscent of his mother’s; charms meant to protect the wearer from magic.

“Dare I say, it fits you well.”

“It feels very natural. As though they have always been a part of me.”

“It is a result of your magic proficiency, surely passed down from me. It seems I was able to do something good for you after all.” She smiled bitterly, sighing.

“Do not speak like that, Mother! You have done so much for me. You brought me into this world, raised me to be who I am today.”

“And yet one day you will pass, but I will remain.” She laughed coldly. “Outliving my own child… how cruel this curse is.”

“Mother…”

“Know this, Siegbert. No matter what happens, I will always be your mother. I will always be proud of you, and I will always love you.” Her words warmed his heart, so much so that Siegbert found his eyes were blurring with tears. He quickly wiped them away.

“Then… Then know this, Mother. I will always be your son. I will always be proud to say that I am your son. I will always love you, more than you could ever know, Mother.”

“Ah… what a wonderful young man you’ve grown to become.” Nyx wiped her eyes. Her son gave her a small smile.

“It is all thanks to you, Mother.”

“You flatter me.”

“You humble yourself.”

Nyx laughed softly. “My… I didn’t know you could be this pushy.”

“I—ah—” His cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment. “My apologies.”

Nyx smiled. “There is no need to apologize. It warms my heart, truly, to see you expressing your true feelings.”

“I love you, Mother,” he whispered. “I promise I will not leave you until I must.”

He could see the tears forming in his mother’s eyes. His father had told him once of his mother’s only fear, and as he thought on it he supposed it made sense. She feared, more than anything, being left behind with nothing but herself in this world; she feared the people she loved and cared for passing on without her knowing how much they had loved her.

But that would not happen. As long as Siegbert drew breath, she would know that she was loved.


End file.
